[Dr. Taha Nasser:]
And there is a couple of things that I think concerns myself and most of my colleagues about this contract. First of all, the contract removes certain fundamental safeguards for the number of hours that we work every single week. Tired doctors make mistakes and we’re worried about making mistakes. You have to remember that our – not only the lives of our patients, it’s obvious extremely important to us, but also our own professional lives or a stake every time we interact with the patient potentially. So being tired is very dangerous for everyone involved.

[Reporter:]
But Jeremy Hunt says very clearly that this contract is about reducing the number of hours that you will work, he doesn’t want to see tired doctors either.

[Dr. Taha Nasser:]
Unfortunately, the reality is that unless you have financial incentives and financial penalties for the people, who design our roads is for our managers. They will be able to put us on call for much longer for many more hours, for many more days, for many more nights.

[Reporter:]
But he says the maximum number of hours will be written into the contract. It’s the same kind of clauses that everybody else in the country has, why would doctors be a special case? Why do you need other special clauses?

[Dr. Taha Nasser:]
Well, first of all, he says that whilst also saying, whilst also removing the financial penalties from the contract from what we’ve seen so far, he is not willing to negotiate on 22 of 23 of the points in that contract and he’s accusing the BMA of not negotiating, which I think is really quite a remarkable statement for him to be making. The reason that is very important for us to have safeguards that maybe certain other professions don’t is because you have to realize we’re dealing with people’s lives.

I’ve just finished four nights working in general surgery in the hospital that I was working in. I came across several patients, who are very, very, very sick and who needed urgent surgery. Now, had I or one of my registrars or one of our consultants who came in not have the presence of mind to make those decisions then some of those decisions might have ended up really being wrong and that would have been very bad for the patients.

The other things that’s very important is that ultimately, functionally, whatever they say about the basic salary, we are going to suffer. We’ve calculated this from the information that they’ve given us. We are going to suffer nationally at 30% to 40% pay cut. And the specialties that will be worst hit will be the ones, who spend the most hours working nights and weekends that will bleed the NHS of its junior doctor workforce, which is all of the doctors from the day they qualify, until they become a consultant that will destroy the NHS.

[Reporter:]
But he says this isn’t about saving money, not a penny will be saved here said today that the basic pay will be increased to account for the reduction in the overtime payments.

[Dr. Taha Nasser:]
So, unfortunately, this is media spin from Jeremy Hunt. I’m very sorry to have to say this about one of our governmental ministers, but that’s the reality of it. This is media spin because if you look at our pay, our pay isn’t just our basic salary. If you look at our paychecks, our pay is made up of our basic salary and the add-ons that have given to us for working nights and working weekends. Now, if you cut our add-ons so significantly that a marginal increase in our basic salary. Essentially, it means that our take home pay is cut by 30% to 40%, which is something that he’s not telling the British public and he is withholding that information from the British public, that’s the reality of it from what we’ve seen so far.

[Reporter:]
So why not get around the negotiating table once again and try and come up with some deal. He says, he’s prepared to compromise.

[Dr. Taha Nasser:]
Well, he says he’s prepared to compromise, whilst not being willing to negotiate on 22 of 23 of the points. His preconditions to his negotiation with the BMA is that, he will not budge on 22 of the 23 of those points. The BMA as a result of that ridiculous clause that ridiculous position that Jeremy Hunt is taking has walked out of negotiations quite rightly. If Jeremy Hunt is willing to actually properly negotiate on the points that are relevant for us and for our patients then we’re very willing and very happy to do so.

[Reporter:]
But if you don’t negotiate all this is just going to end up in industrial action that’s not going to be good for the NHS, is not going to be good for patients.

[Dr. Taha Nasser:]Source: L Y B I O . N E T
You’re right. It’s not going to be good for the NHS. It’s not going to be good for the patients in the short term, but the reality is that we as doctors are looking and thinking long-term for the NHS. If Jeremy Hunt succeeds in doing this, this is the pathway to privatization and we do not believe in a privatized healthcare system in this country.

[Reporter:]
Thank you very much indeed. So you can hear many doctors are extremely angry over what’s being planned with this contract. The Health Secretary says in fact that doctors have been misled by the Union. He wants them all to come back to the negotiating table and come up with a deal.

[Reporter 2:]
Thomas thanks very much indeed. Thomas Moore there in Central London.

Dr. Taha Nasser Junior Doctor Smashes Jeremy Hunt’s Media Lies. It means that our take home pay is cut by 30% to 40%, which is something that he’s not telling the British public. Complete Full Transcript, Dialogue, Remarks, Saying, Quotes, Words And Text.